“Illiberal Liberals”

Is it in any way legitimate to apply the terms “liberalism” and “liberal” to the interwar party politics in Central Europe and which approaches may be adopted for discussing liberalism in this fairly “illiberal” context? A profoundly broad and multi-layered concept in general, liberalism may be contemplated on different levels and conceptualized from numerous perspectives. Through discussing these levels and perspectives, the presentation shall try to delineate the basic theoretical tenets of my doctoral project, as well as to explain reasons for employment of the notions “national liberal heirs” and “post-liberalism” that stand in its core.

Oskar Mulej is Ph.D. candidate in History at the Central European University in Budapest and a Junior Visiting Fellow at the IWM.